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Relieved to hear Declan’s voice more solid, she regained her footing and continued. “Good. I’ll send out comms to the company, then activate our emergency continuity of business plan. Let’s meet at seven o’clock tomorrow morning at Capers, the café by the Westminster Tube station.”
“Deal. Kavita, too?”
For some inexplicable reason, her gut said no, and she hesitated while trying to invent a rational excuse why. Failing to come up with one, she obeyed her intuition and figured Declan was too stressed to protest. “No. We’ll get David back. Stay strong.” She signed off and felt her heartbeat thudding against her chest walls. “Goddamn it!” Hurling her phone against the wall, she left a gash under a framed picture of London’s Green Park.
“So, David’s gone now, too?” Hair tousled and bare-chested, Mark sat up in bed and swiftly yanked the bedsheets to his waist.
“Kidnapped.” Tess rose from the bed and balanced on her good leg, keeping weight off her orthopedic boot-clad foot. Memories of Cedarcliff’s violence rushed back like a raging flood that could sweep her away and crush her under the water’s weight. And now, David was next.
“You’re in shock. What can I do to help you?” Mark met her gaze and touched her arm. “I’m here for you.”
“Thanks. When will this goddamned disaster end?” After a couple of deep breaths, she pressed a hand to one temple and corralled her chaotic thoughts long enough to form a short mental list. “Okay. I’d like you to meet Declan with me at seven o’clock, then you and I will fly to Inverness. Meanwhile, I must lead Kingsley Tech through this crisis and pray David survives this. Christ.”
“Anything you need.” Mark hopped out of bed and picked up his jeans from the floor and pulled them on. Opening the closet, he pulled out a fluffy white bathrobe, which he wrapped around her before landing a kiss on her mouth.
She kissed him back and let out an exasperated sigh. “Declan’s timing couldn’t be worse.”
“Agreed, but I’ll try not to give him a hard time at breakfast. While you work, I’ll take a cold, bracing shower and come pick you up at six thirty.”
“Thanks for being here. I could use a couple of days without a crisis.” At this point, she could hardly remember normal life.
“Me, too. You’ll get through this, though, and I’m only two doors to the right if you need me earlier.” He flashed a smile and left, closing the door behind him.
She dove into work, hoping the mental effort would prevent the painful memories of Cedarcliff from resurfacing. Becoming acting CEO due to a terrorist kidnapping offered no sense of accomplishment, just impending doom. Fear for David’s well-being triggered the memory of Yuri’s interrogation, and she tasted bile in her throat. Please, no torture.
Rejecting negativity, she tackled her to-do list. First, she notified their legal group about the emergency and activated the executive succession plan. Next, she carefully crafted a sober, but reassuring, e-mail for Kingsley Tech’s entire staff and outlined the situation as vaguely as possible to avoid creating panic. After sending the e-mail, she wrote instructions for Declan and Kavita to manage press inquiries and anything else that might arise during the next twenty-four hours.
When Mark knocked on the door at six thirty, she’d face-planted on her laptop keyboard, fast asleep. At his second round of knocking, she hoisted herself from the chair, shuffled to the door, and let him in. “It’s morning already?”
“Afraid so. I prescribe coffee.” He held out a tall caffe latte and stepped into the room.
Judging from the dark circles under Mark’s eyes, she figured he hadn’t slept much, either. “Thanks. I’d mainline caffeine shots if I could. Give me two minutes to shower, and we’ll go.” Tess gulped down half the cup to usher away her residual haze. Dropping the robe on the floor, she headed into the bathroom. True to her word, she appeared in a thick white towel minutes later, slipped into black stretch pants and an ivory sweater, and shoved her uninjured foot into a sleek, black-suede boot. “Ready. But first, a couple of precautions.”
“Such as?” Stretching his neck from side to side, Mark rubbed at the stubble on his chin.
“We can’t mention Crimson Hammer or the Raven. At least, not yet. Crimson Hammer could be blackmailing Declan and Kavita, and Willis insisted I withhold that information. I might be able to trust Declan, but we tell no one for now.”
“Understood. Let’s go.”
The sun had lifted over the horizon by the time she and Mark arrived at the Capers Café. Right away, she spotted Declan sitting alone in the corner, facing an oversized carafe of coffee. Making her way toward his table, she noted his untamed black hair and the reddish skin around his eyes. “Morning, Declan. I’d like to introduce Dr. Mark Nygaard, my fellow hostage in Canada. He’s familiar with the group who I believe kidnapped David.”
“Hey, Tess.” Declan stood to shake Mark’s hand and whistled. “Welcome, mate. Have a seat. You’re unlucky to have ended up in this bloody mess. Nasty bruises you’ve got there.”
“Good to meet you, and I’m sorry to hear David’s missing. And you’re right—Canada was way more action-packed than expected.” Before sitting, Mark pulled out a chair for Tess.
Settling in, Tess reached for the coffee pot. “Let’s drink this while it’s hot.” She poured each of them a cup and watched as Declan sized up Mark, like a football player scoping the opposing team.
Declan poured three packs of sugar into his coffee before directing his attention toward Mark. “Kavita said you were braver than hell at Cedarcliff.”
“Ah, well, she must have been referring to Tess. She saved my life.” Mark rested his hands on the table and smiled in her direction.
Declan gave her a mock salute. “I don’t doubt it. She keeps her head straight in a crisis way better than I could.”
“Goodness knows, I try.” Eyebrows raised, she forced a grim nod, amazed at their faith in her. I’m not brave. I’m reckless. In the past week, she’d taken numerous life-threatening risks and only survived by sheer luck. “Any police update since we talked, Declan?”
Eyelids lowered, he swung his head in a no and frowned. “I called again on the way here, and no news. Your e-mail this morning will keep our teams from bloody freaking out and tame the gossip mill. Thank goodness, the second we learned of the imminent threat, we closed the head office, even before David disappeared.”
“Bleak times, but we’ll stay strong and get through this.” Focused on staying logical, she stuffed her emotions deep and avoided visualizing David. “How much time do we have?”
